Finding A Way Back To Us
by xStelenaJouren
Summary: A two shot based off the new spoilers. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Finding A Way Back To Us.

Okay, I don't know if you have read the spoilers but Whitney & Joey are gonna have a drunken one night stand *shudders* yes, my Jouren heart is breaking right now but I was somewhat inspired for a 2 shot. Enjoy.

#1

Joey was aware of the amount of alcohol he had consumed the night before as he woke up, groaning, rubbing his head but he wasn't prepared for the sight next to him. It was a half naked Whitney Dean. He looked down at himself and saw he was naked. Pieces of the night before came back to him and he realised he had slept with her. He sighed loudly, moving aside and getting changed before nudging Whitney to wake.

"Tyler, two more minutes please, babe" She said, groggy, sinking into the pillows.

"Yeah, it's not Tyler. You need to get out now" He replied, sighing. She woke with a start, looking around, at him and down at herself.

"Did we..?" She couldn't finish her question.

"Yes, we did. Now please get out. You need to get out" He told her, pacing the room.

"I'm supposed to getting married!" She exclaimed, gathering her clothes together.

"And I'm supposed to proving to Lauren that I'm worthy of her!" He sighed, taking a glance at the window, seeing who are around.

"I won't say anything if you don't" She said, getting changed quickly before leaving his room, not aware Alice had seen her leaving Joey's room, adjusting her clothes.

•••

"You gonna tell me why Whitney was leaving your room this morning?" Alice questioned, sitting opposite Joey at the kitchen table.

"Al, what you gotta under-"

"You slept with her didn't you? She's getting married, Joey!" She proclaimed, raising an eyebrow.

"I know, I know" He sighed, his head in his hands.

"And you're supposed to getting Lauren back!" She said, slapping his arm away from his head. He looked at her, sighing.

"I know, Al. I really do" He replied, quietly.

"Look, I don't care what sort of kick you get from having all 3 best friends but it's sick and you need to sort yourself out" She told him, before standing up and leaving.

•••

"Hey, Whit. What time do you want me at the bridesmaid fitting?" Lauren asked her friend, walking through the square, meeting her, smiling.

"Erm, about 2, yeah. I really gotta go, Lauren. I'm sorry. I'll catch you later" Whitney replied, running off leaving Lauren wondering what the hell was wrong but she turned and saw Alice, feeling relaxed a little.

"Hey, Alice. You okay?" She asked, smiling.

"Yeah I'm good" Alice replied, trying her best to smile.

"Do you wanna hang out today? Abi is out with Jay, Dexter and Lola and I was feeling a little lonely, to be honest" Lauren asked, still smiling. Alice felt sick to her stomach.

"Sure, sounds. The park yeah?" She suggested. Lauren nodded and they began to walk.

•••

"Alice, you would tell me if something is wrong wouldn't you?" Lauren asked, after they had brought a can of pop from the stall at the park.

"Of course you know that" Alice replied, opening her can of pop.

"Something is wrong, isn't it? You're acting strange with me. Just tell me please" Lauren said, brushing her hair out of her face as the wind blew.

"It's not my place to say" Alice said, in a small voice, looking away.

"Alice, please" Lauren replied, taking her cousins hand, forcing her to look at her.

"Okay, but you didn't hear from me" Alice proclaimed, raising an eyebrow.

"No, go on" Lauren said, smiling.

"I saw Whitney leaving Joey's room this morning and when I asked him about it, he admitted they have slept together" Alice replied, sighing. Lauren stared at her in shock, struggling to form words.

"Are you sure? Whitney is getting married soon" She questioned, not sure how to feel about this.

"Yeah I am, Lauren. I'm sorry" Alice said, sighing.

"You have done nothing wrong. I need to be alone right now. I'll see you later" Lauren replied, standing up and left the park.

•••

"Alice. Thank god. You're here. I've been looking for you" Joey said, as she walked through the door.

"I've got nothing to say to you, Joey. Just move please" She replied, trying to move past him.

"Al, please, don't do this. If I can't explain it to my little sister, who can I to?" He questioned, sighing.

"Well do you wanna know what your little sister did today?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"What, Al? What did you do?"

"I cleared up your mess. I did the right thing" She replied, then moved to push past him but he grabbed her arms.

"What did you do?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I told Lauren" His eyes widened, before scrambling to get his coat and shoes.

"Why would you do that, seriously? I was going to tell her in my own time, Alice!" He proclaimed, sighing.

"No you wouldn't. You would of bury your head in the sand and hoped it had gone away. I'm not stupid. I'm not 7 years old anymore. I know your tricks, Joey" She told him, crossing her arms.

"The only excuse I have is that I was drunk and I can't use that with her because she'll just slap me in the face" He said, grabbing his keys.

"You were drunk? Are you out of your freaking mind?" She questioned, sighing.

"Do you really think I would sleep with Whitney sober, Alice? I love Lauren and now I've made a massive mistake and she is probably never going to take me back. You don't know anything at all" He said, before leaving.

"Joey, have you seen Lauren?" Kirsty asked him, running up to him in the square.

"Not seen yesterday why?" He replied, a little worried.

"Because she came to see me at work. I was doing a stock check. We were talking then she suddenly left then I went to do the counting, a bottle of vodka was missing" She said. He sighed loudly, looking around.

"I'll find her. It will be okay" He told her but he was having trouble reassuring himself.

•••

Lauren was stood at the sink in her kitchen, staring at the bottle she had stolen. She didn't mean to but it just happened, her old habits creeped in. She just wanted to forget reality for a moment and numb the pain until she passed out but she tried to fight it, remembering what she was told in rehab. Her head was going mental, voices everywhere but the thought of Joey and Whitney filled her mind and her hand was clasped around the vodka bottle lid, slowly unscrewing it. No matter what she did she couldn't stop loving him and she hated feeling so weak. She knew she could die from the bottle in her hand but in that moment, she didn't care, maybe she was better of dead. Then at least she didn't have to feel. She closed her eyes as tears fell, unscrewing the lid a little more.

"Don't do it, Lauren. Please. I'm begging you" A voice said behind her and she opened her eyes to see Abi. She wiped her tears and she saw Joey behind her sister. She groaned, putting the bottle on the side, it slipped but she caught it before it went on the floor.

"Abi, give us a moment please" Joey said. Abi nodded, took one last look at her sister and walked away. He walked in, towards her and she moved away. He sighed, unscrewed the top of the bottle, switched the tap and poured it down the sink.

"I've paid for this. Cleared it up with Kirsty. I'll dispose it. No one will know any better" He told her. She nodded, refusing to look at him.

"You can leave now" She said, bitting her nails, staring at the ceiling.

"Lauren, talk to me please, babe" He replied, walking towards her, grabbing her arm. She retracted, pulled away and walked away.

"No, don't do that. Okay? Don't call me that. I'm not your girlfriend. I'm not anything. So don't act like I am" She told him, walking to the other side of the kitchen.

"Can you just let me explain, please?" He begged, his eyes not leaving her.

"You slept with my best friend! What's to ex-"

"I was drunk" He said, cutting across her. She narrowed her eyes then scoffed, sighing.

"And that makes it alright, does it, Joey? You were drunk? This is me you are talking to! That excuse doesn't wash with me!" She exclaimed, staring at him.

"No, nothing about this is alright, Lauren. I'm telling you that I wouldn't of done that sober. I love you, even if you don't believe it" He told her, walking towards her, taking her hand. She pulled away, her eyes swimming with tears, trying to keep it together. She breathed through the tears. She hated how weak he made her feel.

"Well you're saying it but you're not exactly proving it are you?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I've messed up, big style I know but it was a mistake. I was upset. Angry. You told me to move on and find someone else. When are you going to get it, Lauren? I don't want to find someone else. I want you" He replied, sighing. She looked at him, clearly affected by his words, her eyes going soft. He walked towards her but she held her hand up, her guard back up, walking away.

"Okay, you were angry and upset but surely just go to the gym and take it out on a punch bag or.."

"Drink myself stupid until I pass out?" Joey questioned, raising an eyebrow. She stared at him, ready to defend herself but he was right. She sighed, looking away, leaning onto the kitchen side, exhaling deeply.

"You need to leave" Lauren finally said, wiping away her tears furiously.

"Lauren, please.."

"Just go, please. I want to be alone" She said, pointing to the door, turning around. He nodded, turned to leave but walked towards her, raising a hand and wiped her tears before tucking her hair behind her ear before kissing her on the forehead.

"I love you, Lauren" He told you, emphasising on the word 'you'.

She sighed and nodded "And I love you but you need to leave"

He looked at her. She hadn't said it a long time and it surprised him but he needed to respect her wishes and he left, taking the empty vodka bottle with him. She watched him go, the front door closing behind him before shutting the kitchen door, sliding down it in a heap of tears.


	2. Chapter 2

Finding A Way Back To Us

AN: so sorry it has taken me this long to finish this. If you don't follow me on twitter, you wouldn't I went to Elstree studios on Friday & I've been recovering sleep wise since! I met quite a few actors including Jacqueline and I saw David walking around the set! It was so cool & surreal. I'm going back at the end of the month, I hope to see Jacqueline again and actually meet David this time :) anyways enjoy this last bit.

#2

"Lauren, I'm worried about you" Abi admitted, a day later, watching her sister watch TV. A few months ago, a bottle of vodka would of been in her hand though, so it was a little improvement.

"Joey and Whitney slept together the other night" Lauren sighed after a moment, switching her TV off.

"What? But she's marrying Tyler!" Abi proclaimed, shocked.

"Yeah. I know but it happened, Abs. She won't even return my calls so I know it's true" Lauren replied, holding up her phone.

"So that's why Joey came around yesterday? To tell you?" Abi questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"That's just it, he didn't tell me. Alice told me and he came around here when he realised she did" Lauren said, sighing. Abi's phone started to ring and she answered.

"Hey Jay...yeah I'll be there in a few minutes just with Lauren...strange question but is Whitney there?... Okay thanks see you in a bit.. Love you too" And she hung up.

"Come on, Whitney's in the cafe. You're gonna speak to her come on" Abi exclaimed, getting Lauren's converse from the side of the sofa. She rolled her eyes, taking them off her sister and put them on.

"What is this going to achieve, Abi?" Lauren asked, tying her shoelaces.

"You told me that when you slept with Tyler when you were drunk, you told Whitney straight away. Surely she should show you the same respect?" Abi replied, raising an eyebrow.

•••

Lauren walked into the cafe with Abi, not sure how to approach this. She sat Whitney sat with Tyler and then Joey sat with Alice. He looked up at her and their eyes locked for a moment but Lauren quickly looked away, sighing. She watched as Tyler went to the toilet and then Abi looked at her, raising an eyebrow. Lauren nodded and sat opposite Whitney, very aware of Joey's gaze on her.

"We need to talk, Whitney" Lauren said after a moment, trying to ignore Joey's staring at her.

"I'm busy, Lauren. I'm sorry" Whitney replied, sighing.

"Look, that time, when me and Tyler slept together at his house party, when we were drunk, I told you straight away because I felt so guilty. I thought you would have the common decency to tell me if you did something similar. Obviously I was wrong" Lauren proclaimed, sighing and stood up, storming out. Whitney gasped.

"You told her?" She questioned, staring at Joey.

"No, I did, Whitney because I knew that you two would try and hide it but at least when my brother found out Lauren knew, he went straight around there to try and explain. You're just sat here, feeling sorry for yourself and you are the one more in the wrong here. I mean, you're getting married in 2 weeks" Alice told her. Whitney sighed, looking away and realised Tyler was back.

"What's up, babe?" He asked, sitting down.

"Nothing, I just need to find Lauren" Whitney said, standing up and hurried out, running through the square, shouting to her when she saw her on the steps to her house.

"I don't wanna hear it, Whitney. You have had over a day to tell me. Even then, you didn't say anything. We are best friends, Whit. I can't judge you or have a go because I did the same with Tyler but at least have the common decency to tell me like I did with you" Lauren replied, walking down to her.

"I just felt guilty, Lauren. Especially with the kiss last year. I didn't know what to do" Whitney told her, sighing.

"Come and tell me! This is why I used to drink, Whit. Among other reasons. People just think it's okay to walk all over me and it's not okay. I don't care anymore. You and Joey. You are both in the wrong but at least he came to see me and explain it to me. I won't tell Tyler. That's your job. I'll see you around" Lauren said, sighing and turned, walking back up to the steps to her house, slamming the door as she walked in.

"You alright, darlin'?" Cora asked, as she walked into the living room.

"Not really, Nan. No. My best friend. Turns out she can't show me the same respect. And my ex-boyfriend, I just.." Lauren's voice broke off, crying. Cora sighed, rushing forward and hugging her, bringing her to the sofa, sitting her down.

"What is it? Tell me" She said, passing Lauren a tissue

"Whitney and Joey. They slept together. They are both to blame but I can't blame him, Nan. I can't. I love him so much, he can't do wrong and I hate him for making me like that. Despite that and everything, I still love him and want to be with him. How does that even work?" Lauren cried, wiping her eyes.

"I don't know. It just does. That's love for you" Cora replied, tightening an arm around her.

"I don't want to be Mum though. She took Dad back so many times and it ruined them. I don't want to have children and let my love for Joey affect them like Mum's love for Dad affect me, Abi and Oscar. I can't do it because I don't want them to go through the same pain as me" Lauren replied, sighing.

"So you're saying you want children with Joey then?" Cora asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know, Nan. I really don't but what I do know is that I want to find out but I also know it maybe the death of me. I know I will want to drink when things get bad" Lauren told her, sniffing.

"But you are never gonna know unless you try. If you keep denying what you feel, you're gonna drink anyways. Either way, there's a possibility you are gonna wanna drink to numb the pain but you need to do the thing that makes you happy, not sad" Cora said, smiling weakly. Lauren nodded as she felt her phone vibrate in her phone. It was Abi.

Meet me in the park. I may have the answer to yours and Joey's problems. x

"Abi wants me to meet her in the park. I will be back soon" Lauren told her Nan, hugging her and left.

•••

Lauren narrowed her eyes as she approached her sister in the park, as she held about half a dozen balloons.

"Is it someone's birthday or something?" Lauren asked, pointing.

"No. These are the answers to yours and Joey's problems" Abi replied, passing her them. Lauren stared at them for a moment, taking them.

"Explain" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"On each balloon, you are going to one problem and discuss it with Joey then when you have finished with that problem, you let the balloon go as a reference for letting that problem go" Abi told her, passing her some long paper tags.

"What?" Lauren asked, slightly confused.

"You wanna sort your problems out yeah? I know you love him and I also know you cried yourself to sleep last night. This is the way, Lauren. Addressing your problems and moving on" Abi replied, passing her a pen.

"You're not bad you, Abi" Lauren said, taking the pen.

"You just need somewhere to tie them when you have done" Abi replied, smiling.

"I know the perfect place" Lauren told her, smiling, looking at the big plastic yellow flowers behind Abi.

•••

Meet me at the park if you want to sort this out. L x

Joey received this text whilst doing a stock check at R & R. He looked at the time and knew he had to go.

"Sharon, could I take a break please?" He asked, walking into the office.

"Okay, you have half an hour" She replied and he left, heading to the park, finding Lauren near the big plastic flowers that she, Lucy and Whitney had once handcuffed him to.

"Okay, I'm slightly confused, babe. I will admit" He told her, seeing about half a dozen balloons tied to the flowers.

"I will admit it was an Abi idea and going with it. She always has the best ideas but lets pretend it was my idea, yeah?" She replied, smiling.

"Okay, I'm listening" He said. She nodded.

"Nearly a year ago it was you tied to this flower and I vowed to never succumb to your advances. Yeah that failed and here we are nearly a year on with all our problems tied to the same plastic flower" She told him, sighing.

"Yeah we do have a lot" He admitted, smiling weakly.

"Our first problem is the obvious one. It never bothered me though I told myself to should bother me" Lauren said, taking the first balloon, handing him it. He took and read the tag which said 'Cousins'.

"I will never cared you are my cousin. All I cared about was how you made me feel. That's what I focus on but of course we are gonna get hate which is a problem itself" She told him, sighing.

"Lauren, as long as we focus on the love we have for each other not the hate from others. That's all that matter. To be honest babe, who cares what other people think" He replied, smiling.

"So we are good on this one? Let it go then like we have" She said, looking at the balloon. He nodded, finally getting what the idea behind it all and let it go whilst she took the next balloon.

"Your Dad. We gotta talk about him. We will always have different opinions on him. We will. You finally made peace with him when he died, I couldn't and I will never be able to. But I can accept you doing that, if you can accept me not being able to make peace with him even in death" Lauren told him. He nodded, taking her hand that was holding the balloon and they let it go together.

"What's next?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. She took the next one, handing it to him.

"The car accident, the lying to the police and the break up" He read the tag.

"I never thanked you enough for that. You didn't have to lie to the police but you did. If it wasn't for you, I would be in prison" She told him, smiling.

"I didn't want to lose you. I just wish I thought of it instead of Derek, now I'm in his debt forever" Joey replied, sighing.

"Just accept that he did and then we can move on. It happened. I wish it didn't. I had broken ribs and a broken heart. I know which one I preferred and which one I would go through again but I forgave you because I would of done the same for you" Lauren said, smiling weakly.

"I will never be able to forgive myself fully for it but you forgiving me made it a little better to live with myself" He told her, sighing.

"Okay, now we have addressed that problem, let it go" She replied. He nodded and did. She took the next one and handed it to him.

"We both a Beale twin for an ex. Yours is a little crazier then mine but I need to explain about me and Peter first before we get onto her" She said. He nodded, taking the balloon.

"Peter is my first love. He will always be that. No matter what I feel for you, I will always love Peter, we will always have an connection but I was a kid. It was puppy love. It doesn't compare to what we have. What we have blows what me and Peter had out of the water but you need to accept that me and him have a connection, I love him and he will always be my best friend" She told him, smiling. He nodded again, thinking for a moment.

"Wish I could say the same for Lucy but I can't. When I first moved to Square, I was wanting Derek away from Alice and Lucy provided a distraction. Then when you used to come around to hers, she became another sort of distraction. I came to the square to get my little sister away from it but I stayed because of you. I never loved her. It was always you" He replied, smiling back at her. She nodded, taking his hand with the balloon.

"I will kick her arse though if she starts again" She said, as they let that balloon go together before moving back to the rest of the balloons.

"I'll do the next one" He said, taking the next one and laughed.

"My pride and your stubbornness? Okay. Explain" He laughed, handing her it.

"They kinda work hand in hand a bit. Stubbornness is just something to sum it all up. When I didn't come to you, you thought I wasn't happy with you and it affected you, thinking that if we broke up, it might help me but it didn't. I was stubborn and didn't want to admit I had problems. It was nothing to do with you" She replied, smiling weakly.

"So what are you suggesting?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"That I will always come to you when I have a problem. Good or bad. Then you won't feel like you're not good enough for me because you are, you really are" She replied, beaming at him.

"That all I ask of you, babe, you know that" He said, smiling as he let go of that balloon.

"But some stubbornness is sexy, so find a balance, yeah?" He added, raising an eyebrow. She narrowed her eyes and playfully slapped before turning to the last balloon, sighing heavily, undid it and held it for a moment. He looked at her, knowing what it was and allowed her to have a moment.

"My drinking problem" Lauren said, sighing.

"It's okay, babe. Take your time I know" Joey replied, rubbing her arm in comfort.

"I put it on a yellow balloon because its my least favourite colour and thinking back, it was the least favourite period of my life and I don't wanna go back to it. It had nothing to do with you, for at first. It was only after we broke up I drank like I did because I wanted to numb the pain like I did all the times before to numb the pain of my parents drama but now I realise, my parents issues don't have to affect me like they did. I'm 19 years old. I need to live my own life and still be there for my sister and brother. I nearly killed myself. I could still kill myself because of me shutting everyone out but I have you now. You're all I need. No alcohol. As long as I have you,I don't need alcohol. But what I need to know is that you can accept what happened and see that I could fall in the future but as long as you're there to catch me, I can move past it" She told him, trying not to cry.

"And I need you to see that I didn't break up with you because I didn't love you anymore or I couldn't handle it, I thought I was doing good by you and you would get better without me around but I just made you worse" He replied, moving closer to her, taking her hands that were clasped around the balloon tie.

"I forgave you a long time ago for it" She whispered, letting the balloon go as she began to cry which in turn set him off.

"Whitney?" He asked, looking at her, cupping her cheek.

"It happened and I wish it didn't but I can't not be with you anymore, I love you too much and too much has happened for us not to be together" She replied, looking up at him.

"So what now?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Now you kiss me so we can move on together" She told him. He chuckled and nodded.

"I love you so much, Lauren Branning. It's always going to be you" He whispered against her lips before kissing her, finally happy with their lives then looked up at the sky, the balloons floating away, their problems finally solved and gone from them.


End file.
